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Owaisi’s PIL in SC for enforcement of 1991 Places of Worship Act accepted with ongoing cases while Central govt has sought extension 8 times already

The Modi government has already sought and received eight extensions in less than three years from the highest court to file its counter affidavit in response to the collection of petitions that challenge the Places of Worship Act, 1991. The eighth extension was granted in July 2023.

The debate on the Places of Worship Act 1991 has resurfaced, as the Supreme Court is set to hear a petition filed by Asaduddin Owaisi, the supremo of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), seeking directions for the central government to strictly enforce the provisions of the act. On 2nd January the bench gave its nod and the matter will be taken up for hearing on 17th February.

On 17th December 2024, Owaisi submitted the plea with the assistance of advocate Fuzail Ahmad Ayyubi who requested the court to instruct the centre to guarantee the effective implementation of the law. The 1991 Places of Worship Act mandates maintaining the religious character of a place as it existed on 15th August 1947.

The law provided an exception for the Ram Janmabhoomi site, which served as the basis for the 2019 ruling in the Ayodhya case, awarding the contested land to the deity Ram Lalla and adds that no legal action might be initiated in any court concerning the alteration of the religious nature of a place of worship as it was on that date.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and including Justice Sanjay Kumar, instructed that Asaduddin Owaisi’s recent application be consolidated with the existing cases related to the issue. At the outset, lawyer Nizam Pasha, appearing for the politician informed that multiple petitions related to the matter are in the court and the fresh one could be tagged with them as well. “We will tag this,” CJI Sanjiv Khanna replied.

On 12th December, the Chief Justice of India presided over a bench that addressed a collection of petitions concerning the 1991 law. The bench ordered all courts to refrain from accepting new cases and from making any interim or final decisions in existing cases related to the reclamation of religious sites, particularly mosques and dargahs. “As the matter is sub-judice in this court, we deem it appropriate that no fresh suit would be registered and proceedings are undertaken till further orders of this court,” the Supreme Court pronounced.

The Lok Sabha MP, in his legal appeal, pointed to instances where courts have mandated the surveying of mosques following petitions lodged by Hindu plaintiffs, as articulated by his counsel. With several associated petitions already pending before the apex court, it is expected that the appeal will be grouped with the earlier pleas, including that of lawyer and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, during the court’s hearing.

Modi govt has sought and received 8 extensions to submit its counter affidavit in the case

Meanwhile, the Modi government has already sought and received eight extensions in less than three years from the highest court to file its counter affidavit in response to the collection of petitions that challenge the Places of Worship Act, 1991. The eighth extension was granted in July 2023. A three-judge panel led by then Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud clarified that the ongoing status of the case before them does not imply that the act has been stayed.

During the concise hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta conveyed to the bench that the government was reviewing the situation and requested further time to provide its response. The bench readily accepted this request, granting the centre until 31st October to submit the counter-affidavit. However, former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, one of the petitioners, opposed the extension, arguing that the government was simply stalling the process. “Mr Swamy, that is why we are giving time till October 31, let’s see what they respond,” the court responded.

The Supreme Court first told the Union government in September 2022 to submit its stance on the issue via an affidavit within a two-week timeframe. Despite several extensions granted in October and November of the same year, as well as in January, April, and July of the last year, the govt did not present the required affidavit. At the latest hearing on 12th December, the court granted the government an additional four weeks to provide its reply.

The Muslim side has approached the highest court, advocating for the stringent application of the 1991 act under the guise of ensuring communal harmony and protecting the existing status of mosques. They contend that these “mosques are being claimed by Hindus,” who maintain that temples were situated at these sites before being demolished by invaders.

On the other hand, Hindu petitioners assert that the religious places associated with Sanatan Dharma existed prior to their destruction by Muslim tyrants who installed Islamic structures on their ruins and even provide supporting evidence for this claim.

They highlight that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act was implemented in an arbitrary manner, charging that: a) There is no legitimate reason for designating 15th August 1947, as the cut-off date and b) A logical connection cannot be established between India’s political independence, the creation of the Republic, and the resolution of the civilizational conflict that arose from the colonial subjugation of Hindu identity and the cultural dominance enforced by Islamic invaders.

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